Yesterday we saw Israel transition from being a nomadic people group wandering in the desert to an organized nation moving with purpose toward Canaan. They skirted the southern edge of the Promised Land, and made their way east toward Edom. They fought and defeated Canaanites in the Negev desert, totally destroying their cities.

Edom would not allow Israel to pass through its territory and God didn’t let them battle the Edomites, so they swung farther east and turned north toward Moab. Along the way they encountered the Amorites who also forbade them to travel through their country, but Israel fought this time and in a series of battles they took possession of land on the northeast side of the Dead Sea.

It’s not too surprising that the nations Israel was passing near didn’t want to have anything to do with them.

This was the new Israel, the generation that had grown up in the wilderness and buried their elders there. They were young and God had prepared them for battle. They created quite a stir as they marched north.

King Balak 

Israel settled for a while on the plains of Moab, directly across the Jordan River from Canaan. King Balak of Moab spied on Israel as they traveled and he knew what they had done to the Amorites. The entire Moabite nation was terrified of Israel.

But Balak wasn’t willing to go to war with Israel, they were too powerful for him, so he decided to curse them. Perhaps if they were cursed they would weaken and he could then fight them and win. He sent emissaries to fetch Balaam, a prophet living in what is now northern Syria. They were supposed to bribe him to come and curse Israel. Balak was prepared to pay well for Balaam’s services.

The Prophet Balaam

J. Vernon McGee says that Balaam is a mysterious prophet. He feared God, and God used him, but was he a God worshipper? He mostly served his own interests as a mercenary prophet for hire and we will see that God only spoke to Balaam for the benefit of Israel.

Balaam met with King Balak’s emissaries and invited them to stay overnight while he consulted God.  God was ready with an answer: “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.” Numbers 22:12

The next morning Balaam sent the elders on their way without him, but King Balak sent back another group of officials, with an offer of higher pay. Balaam already knew God’s answer, but he told this group to wait overnight while he asked God again.

This time God said Balaam could go to Moab, but only to do exactly what God told him to do.

A Donkey Talks

Balaam got up in the morning and set off for Moab on his faithful donkey. God was angry with Balaam because he saw that Balaam’s heart was not set on doing God’s will; he was greedy for the silver and gold of Moab.

God got in Balaam’s way. The angel of the Lord, stood in the road with a drawn sword and when Balaam’s donkey saw him, it veered off into a field. Three times the donkey balked at the sight of the angel. The second time it crushed Balaam’s foot against a wall and the third time it lay down in the road and wouldn’t move. Balaam beat the poor animal each time, but God miraculously let the donkey speak to Balaam and it reasoned with him.

Having a conversation with a donkey opened Balaam’s eyes to what was going on; he saw the angel of the Lord and understood how close he had come to dying by the angel’s sword. He repented of his stubbornness and offered to turn around and go back home, but the angel told him to proceed and only say what God told him to say.

Curses Turn to Blessings

Balaam told King Balak not to expect too much when he prophesied about Israel. He was limited to only what God allowed him to say, and he knew compliance was a matter of life and death for him.

The Israelite camp was so huge they couldn’t see all of it from one place so Balak took Balaam to four different locations and they looked down on the Israelites sprawled across the plains. Balak and Balaam built altars and offered pagan sacrifices at each spot.

Balaam’s prophecies came out as blessings, not curses. At the first viewing point he recounted the invitation from Balak offering him money to curse Israel. But Balaam couldn’t curse a nation set apart and blessed by God. In fact, Balaam hoped that he might end up as blessed as Israel was someday. (Numbers 23:6-11)

From the second vantage point Balaam heard the Lord say that God was not like a human being who might lie or change his mind. God had decided to bless Israel with the strength of a lion and nothing could change that. (Numbers 23:18-24)

In the third location Balaam saw clearly that Israel was going to live in a beautiful land with plenty of water for their gardens and crops. Their king would be the greatest and they would devour other nations. Those who blessed Israel would be blessed and those who cursed her would be cursed.

Finally Balaam looked down on Israel and foresaw someone amazing who would come from from them. In a vision he saw a distant figure.

“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.” Numbers 24:17

When Jesus was born later, wise men from the east followed the star Balaam described all the way to Judea and then to Bethlehem where they found the newborn king that he had prophesied. God used Balaam despite his being a false prophet with a covetous heart. His prophecy endured and was studied for over a thousand years until it was fulfilled.

Final Words from Balaam

While Balaam was prophesying about Israel, he noticed the Amalekites and Kenites who lived near Israel’s camp. He threw in a couple of prophecies about their coming destruction. Then he cried out with a prophet’s lament, “Alas! Who can live when God does this?” Numbers 24:23

God’s Grace for His People

As we have seen, Israel was not a perfect nation. They failed over and over, but they were the people God had chosen and they belonged to him by a covenant relationship. No one could touch Israel unless God allowed it for his own good purposes. The nations around Israel wanted to curse them, but when it was God intention to bless them, they were blessed.

This is also true for all who belong to God through a relationship with Jesus Christ. We are saved by the blood of Christ, we are God’s family and part of his holy nation; no one can touch us without his consent. God is the only one who is allowed to discipline us and he only does it for our good.

Sometimes we fear God’s discipline and we worry about whether suffering is part of God’s plan for us. We probably will suffer, because no one escapes suffering in this life, but how good it is to know that whatever comes our way it will turn out well for us because of God’s good grace.

Balaam Goes Home

Since Balaam couldn’t deliver the curses King Balak asked for he went home empty-handed.

“Then Balaam got up and returned home, and Balak went his own way.” Numbers 24:25

These two men had witnessed the power of God to bless the people of his choice. They encountered  Almighty God and discovered how small they were by comparison with him, but all they went home with was disappointment. Balaam didn’t get silver and gold, and Balak didn’t get to curse Israel. They just went home and on their own way.

What did you learn from today’s story about Balak, Balaam, God and Israel? You are not on a mountain in Moab looking down at Israel today, but you are gazing into the Scriptures and seeing God at work there. Why not write yourself a note about something new you have learned about God in this story (or in previous readings) and share it with someone later today.